I know it's a bow site but.... (rifle question)

[Cuz]

Can someone give me the breakdown on the difference between a 300 win mag and a 300 wsm?
Assuming both are shooting a 150 grain round...

faster/slower, more/less kick, hit harder/weaker, price of ammo difference, one shoot flatter and farther with less drop, etc...


Many thanks TBH BrainTrust!

[Mayhem]

pretty compriable on all accounts, i have read that the wsm are supposed to have less recoil, due to the way the powders burns.. my 7mm wsm has less recoil than my fil 7mm magnum.

[Deans]

They are both about the same performane wise. Most people use 180gr or 200gr though.

Deans

[locoengineer]

the concept of the short mags was for sheep hunters to have magnum rounds in a short action platform if your hunting out of a blind and not hiking up mountains for days at a time theres not much reason for the extra expense in ammo for short mag rounds just my 2 cents

[Cuz]

They are both about the same performane wise. Most people use 180gr or 200gr though.

Deans

Yea, you are right. I was just throwing 150 grn out there. I'm wondering what the difference is, So long as the grain is the same.

[Cuz]

the concept of the short mags was for sheep hunters to have magnum rounds in a short action platform if your hunting out of a blind and not hiking up mountains for days at a time theres not much reason for the extra expense in ammo for short mag rounds just my 2 cents

Do the wsm cost more off the shelf?

[BillW]

WSM ammo tends to be a little higher and not as easy to find as 300 Win Mag ammo. Pretty comparable ballistics, if you reload the larger case capacity of the Win Mag can be an advantage.

[Mayhem]

300 wsm is a easy to find as 300 wm, these days and sporting goods store worth anything carrys 300 wsm.. heck even wal-mart has 300 wsm.

[Cajun Blake]

Ballistically they will perform nearly identical.

the WSM uses a short action , and he WM uses a long action

out of a 24" rifle barrel, the 300 WSM pushes a 180 grain bullet 2,970 fps muzzle velocity , and the same bullet with the 300 Win Mag will have a 2,960 fps. MV

recoil is the difference ; roughly 10% .

an 8lb 300 WSM rifle produces 23.8 ft/lbs of recoil with a 180 grain bullet

an 8lb. 300 Win Mag rifle produces 26 ft/lbs of recoil with a 180 grain bullet

FWIW , an 8 lb. 270 Win rifle with a 150 grain bullet produces around 17 ft/lbs of recoil.

[Okiehunter]

the WSM uses a short action , and he WM uses a long action

out of a 24" rifle barrel, the 300 WSM pushes a 180 grain bullet 2,970 fps muzzle velocity , and the same bullet with the 300 Win Mag will have a 2,960 fps. MV

recoil is the difference ; roughly 10% .

an 8lb 300 WSM rifle produces 23.8 ft/lbs of recoil with a 180 grain bullet

an 8lb. 300 Win Mag rifle produces 26 ft/lbs of recoil with a 180 grain bullet

What Cajun said is about right.

I am a WSM fan, I like my 270 WSM and would be happy to move from my 300 Win Mag into a 300 WSM if I had it to do over again. The WSM is a smaller, lighter rifle (all things being equal) and that can be a BIG plus. Just because you are not planning a trip to the mountains now does not mean you will not in the years ahead. You just never know when you might want to go elk hunting or will need to walk to your blind a half mile away. Ammo for the WSM cost more, you might want to think about how much do you shoot each year? In other words, you cost to use the gun per year. Get yourself a Tikka T3 Lite in 300 wsm and you got a good shooter that will kill anything in North America.

Put you a good muzzle brake on it and you can shoot it without fear of felt recoil.

[dustoffer]

As a reloader, the short mags are a Pain--and the super-short ones are just about the worst rounds I've tried to work with. Brass life is shorter too, due to the need to full-length resize the case each time it's reloaded.

I've found no advantage to the short or super-short mags, the idea of a shorter rifle is pure marketing hype to me. Come on--is .5 to 1.0 inches going to make that much difference?

[Cuz]

Ballistically they will perform nearly identical.

the WSM uses a short action , and he WM uses a long action

out of a 24" rifle barrel, the 300 WSM pushes a 180 grain bullet 2,970 fps muzzle velocity , and the same bullet with the 300 Win Mag will have a 2,960 fps. MV

recoil is the difference ; roughly 10% .

an 8lb 300 WSM rifle produces 23.8 ft/lbs of recoil with a 180 grain bullet

an 8lb. 300 Win Mag rifle produces 26 ft/lbs of recoil with a 180 grain bullet

FWIW , an 8 lb. 270 Win rifle with a 150 grain bullet produces around 17 ft/lbs of recoil.

GOOD, precise info Blake. Thanks!!

[Cuz]

What Cajun said is about right.

I am a WSM fan, I like my 270 WSM and would be happy to move from my 300 Win Mag into a 300 WSM if I had it to do over again. The WSM is a smaller, lighter rifle (all things being equal) and that can be a BIG plus. Just because you are not planning a trip to the mountains now does not mean you will not in the years ahead. You just never know when you might want to go elk hunting or will need to walk to your blind a half mile away. Ammo for the WSM cost more, you might want to think about how much do you shoot each year? In other words, you cost to use the gun per year. Get yourself a Tikka T3 Lite in 300 wsm and you got a good shooter that will kill anything in North America.

Put you a good muzzle brake on it and you can shoot it without fear of felt recoil.

I don't shoot a lot. Maybe 10 rounds a year to sight in a check a few times. Maybe 10-15 rounds a year at game. So I guess $10 a box extra is no biggy huh? Or is more than $10 a box?

I've had my eye on a Tikka T3 WSM. Not a "Lite" though. Wood grain and blued... Used but in like new condition for $500.
Sound fair?

[TX Doc]

There won't be a lot of difference between the two. What you have to remember is the 300 Win Mag has been around for a long time. That means the ammunition manufacturers have to load ammo that is safe to shoot out of the guns that were made 40 years ago. With the newer short mags they don't have to worry about older guns and can load them to higher pressure. However, if you are going to reload then the Win Mag gives you more case capacity and will outperform the short mag.

[TX Doc]

You also have to realize that the WSM is going to hold 1 less round in the magazine due to the diameter of the case.